IA confirms Perth Freight Link is the solution

Media Release

JB090/2015

19 August 2015

Infrastructure Australia has confirmed that the Perth Freight Link is the infrastructure solution Western Australia needs to drive economic growth and boost the productive capacity of Perth's transport network.

Contrary to the article in this morning's Western Australian newspaper, the Infrastructure Australia assessment does NOT say the project will result in fewer benefits.

In fact, the assessment says the project aligns with Infrastructure Australia's strategic priorities to ‘increase productivity’, ‘expand productive capacity’ and ‘build on Australia’s global competitive advantages' through delivering a more efficient freight network.

Infrastructure Australia also acknowledges that the Perth Freight Link “will improve the connectivity and access between Perth's key industrial and activity centres and improve on-road safety and community amenity”.

The assessment also concludes that there is “good evidence that access to port gateways in Perth is a nationally significant problem” and that “Infrastructure Australia has a high level of confidence that the proposed solution will deliver net economic benefits.”

The Australian Government is focused on delivering this world class project as it will create 2,400 construction jobs and inject billions into the Western Australian economy.

By building the Perth Freight Link, we will create a new world class freight connection between Perth's strategic industrial areas and the Fremantle Port, providing travel time savings of almost 10 minutes from the Kwinana Freeway to Fremantle and delivering economic benefits of more than $3.9 billion to our state.

It will also reduce freight traffic and congestion on local arterial roads with 500 trucks a day expected to be removed from the Leach Highway by 2031.

Unlike Labor whose infrastructure policy consists of selling road corridors and moving freight by bicycle, the Coalition is building the world class infrastructure Perth needs to grow its economy and create more jobs for the future.